Purchasing drugs - High prices fuel risky online trade

The Irish Medicines Board has revealed that more than three quarters of a million dosages of fake or illegal medicines were confiscated last year by customs’ officers after they were purchased online or via mail order.

The figures involved in this illicit trade are staggering: overall, there were 758,276 dosages of fake or illegal medicines detected; 246,951 units held were sedative products, 153,042 weight loss products, with 52,089 units bought over the internet to treat male impotence.

The board’s chief executive, Pat O’Mahony, said: “As with previous years, the IMB is concerned with the consistent levels of counterfeit and illegal medicines being detained year on year and is warning consumers of the dangers of purchasing medicines from unauthorised sources.